‘True Blood:’ What’s a good price for an exorcism?

First of all, here’s a big “thanks” to HBO for not blowing that cliff-hanger ending by showing promos that answer the question of whether Bill was, indeed, in the vamp nest when the rednecks torched it. (Since his relationship with Sookie is kind of the point of the whole show, my guess would be that he was miles away, perhaps exacting revenge on someone else who had wronged Sookie in the past.)

Another big thanks goes to Alan Ball and his creative team for finally finding a good tone for the show. There’s some much-needed humor woven into this dark, violent story  Tara’s mom trying to get a loan for her exorcism comes immediately to mind, as does trashy Randy Sue consigning Jason to hell for simply saying he wants to visit a vamp bar. And the Iraq War vet spotting a naked Sam jogging along the shoreline does, too. And one of the best lines of the night had to be “How’s she supposed to nurse a baby with fangs?” Followed closely by the exchange between Jason and the vamp bar bouncer:

Jason, after she asked if his mama knows he’s out in the big, bad city: “My mamma’s dead.”

Bouncer: “So am I.”

Nicely done, Mr. Ball, nicely done.

The ep didn’t do much to advance the serial killer story  it mostly raised unrelated questions. What do the vampires that Sam attempted to dispatch at Merlotte’s want with Bill? Is there a reason that Sam isn’t close to his family? Who exactly died in the house fire? Does the exorcist have a day job as an advice columnist? (And if not, why not? She seemed to have Tara’s number, and could maybe help her become “boyfriendable”  or, if not that, at least a little more bearable to watch.) And does the girl that Jason picked up at the vamp bar EVER shut up? (Fingers crossed that this relationship has the same shelf life as the one with Randy Sue and everyone else Jason has had sex with in this show’s short life.)

Sam officially crossed the line from “apparent good guy” to “jerk” when he yanked that scarf off of Sookie’s neck, revealing to everyone the most recent turn in her relationship with Bill. Time for Sookie to launch a job hunt.

With each week, the vampires seem to get a little more intense. The scene at Merlotte’s was genuinely scary, and the vamp bar also seems to be a little more out of control. It was good to see Eric look a little less sleepy, too  that actor might work out after all.